
E LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES.il 

.....-.-....-:J k 


W The Story 


Paper, Pens, I 
Pencils, Etc. jm 


[j A. FLANAGAN COMPANT) 




















































































































The Little Classic Series 

The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 

Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug¬ 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

4 t * 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


First and Second Grades 

No. 

2719 Aesop’s Fables. 

2713 Old Time Stories. 

2725 Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes. 

2707 First Steps in Reading. 

2701 Jack and the Beanstalk. 

2726 Favorite Mother Goose Jingles. 

2720 Little Red Riding Hood. 

2727 Story of Little Black Sambo. 

2708 Bunny Cottontail Stories. 

2728 Ten Little Indian Stories. 

2721 Hiawatha and Henry W. Longfel¬ 

low. 

2730 Twelve Little Indian Stories. 

2716 Bunny Boy. 

2731 The Jenny Wren Book. 

2704 Bob the Cat. 

2723 Whitter and His Snow-Bound. 

2732 The Bluebird Book. 

2717 Thanksgiving Stories. 

2733 Four Favorite Stories. 

2705 The Story of Two Little Rabbits. 

2724 The Three Misses Cottontail and 

King Rabbit. 

2734 My Shadow, and Other Poems. 

2718 Modern Fables. 

2735 My Treasures, and Other Poems. 

2706 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

First and Second Grades. 

2819 Squirrel and Other Animal Stories. 


Second and Third Grades 

No. 

2736 Three Popular Stories. 

2714 The Story of Joseph. 

2807 Beauty and the Beast and Other 
Favorite Fairy Tales. 

2702 Susan Cottontail Stories. 

2802 Cinderella and Other Favorite 

Fairy Tales. 

2715 Robinson Crusoe. 

2738 Stories from Grimm. 

2729 Sixteen Little Indian Stories. 

2809 The Coming of the Christ-Chilr. 

2709 Our Three Little Sisters and Hia¬ 

watha. 

2803 Christmas Stories. 

2722 Pussy Willow and other Tree 
Stories. 

2740 The Story of Peter Rabbit. 

2710 Stories About Animals. 

2810 The Little Story Reader. 

2711 Mr. and Mrs. Stout of Beaver Dam 

and How JackrabbitLost HisTail. 

2823 Stories About Birds. 

2712 The Tale of Bunny Cottontail— 

Abridged. 

2825 Who Stole the Bird’s Nest, and 

Other Poems. 

2824 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Third Grade. 

2826 The Robin Redbreast Book. 

2812 The Toyland of Santa Claus. 

2827 The Chickadee Book. 

2828 Brownie’s Ride and Brownie and 

the Cook. 

2829 Escape at Bedtime, and Other 

Poems. 

2830 My Ship and I, and Other Poems. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO;© Cl A 6 90293 


* /• 


NOV 20 72 


f 






the story of paper, pens, pencils, etc. 

By W. F. Rocheleau 

Copyright, 1922, by A. Flanagan Co. 
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

PINS 



PIN is so common 


and so cheap 
that we scarcely 
think it worth 
while to waste 
time in picking 
one up when we 


drop it. Nevertheless, its 


manufacture requires com¬ 
plicated and delicate ma¬ 
chinery, and, until within 


the last few years, every pin passed through the 
hands of at least fourteen workmen before its 
completion. At present all pins are machine 
made. 

Common pins are made from brass wire which 
is coiled upon large spools. The wire is drawn 
from this coil through a hole in a steel plate, 
which has the same diameter as the pin. It is 
seized by a pair of pinchers and thrust through 
a hole in another plate, where the end is. struck 
by a hammer, which forms the head. The pin is 
then cut off the required length and falls into a 




groove where it hangs by the head. On the - 
lower side of this groove, the opposite end of the 
pin comes in contact with a rapidly revolving 
cylinder, by which means it is pointed. All this 
is done so rapidly that an endless stream of pins 
falls from the machine during its operation. 
The pins next pass between two grinding wheels 
which give them a still sharper point. After this 
they are dipped in a tub of polishing oil, and 
polished. They are then usually boiled in a 
solution of tin to make them white. After coat¬ 
ing the pins are ready to be stuck in the papers. 
The machine which does this work is probably 
the most ingenious invention connected with the 
manufacture of this little article. The pins fall 
into a hopper arranged on an inclined plane, 
and having a number of slits. The pins slide 
along down these slits point downward. They 
are then caught and inserted in the paper, ready 
for market. One of these machines will stick 
100,000 pins an hour, and the mechanism is so 
delicate that the least imperfection in the pin 
will stop the feeding until the obstruction 
is removed. 

Black pins are sometimes made from steel 
wire, and sometimes from brass wire and coated 
with japan, but those made in this way are of an 
inferior quality, and not generally used. 

There are forty-five pin factories in the United 
States, giving employment to i, 6 oo persons, and 


turning out $10,000,000 worth of pins every 
year. The number of pins manufactured is prac¬ 
tically beyond comprehension. A careful esti¬ 
mate made in the city of London a few years 
ago, showed that Great Britain alone was 
making 280,000,000 a week; at the same time, 
120,000,000 were made in France, and an equal 
number in Germany, besides 30,000,000 a day 
made in . the United States, and the output of 
other large countries. It is also estimated that 
only one pin out of every hundred made is worn 
out or broken by use, the other ninety-nine 
being lost. 

When pins first came into use, they were very 
expensive and used only by ladies of wealthy 
families. When a lady was married, it was cus¬ 
tomary to give her a sum of money with which 
to buy pins; this gave rise to the term, “pin 
money,” which now has an altogether different 
meaning. 


NEEDLES 

Although tne manufacture of the sewing nee¬ 
dle is not properly an American industry, its 
introduction here is pardonable on account of the 
interest we all feel in this little piece of pointed 
steel wire. The use of the needle is very old, 
and it was probably one of the first tools 
employed by men. Savage and barbarous 
nations have been accustomed to using pieces of 
3 


bone, or even thorns, to aid them in sewing their 
clothing together; and bone needles with eye 
holes have been found in the tombs of the 
ancient Egyptians and among the ruins of old 
Roman cities. 

Steel needles were formerly made entirely by 
hand, but now a great part of the work is done 
by machinery. The manufacturer buys his wire, 
(which must be of the best quality of steel), in 
bundles, each containing several coils. The wire 
is first cut out into two-needle lengths. The cut 
wires are called blanks. As these are taken 
from a round coil, they are slightly bent and 
must be sraightened. The first process in 
straightening is to place the blanks in bundles 
and heat to redness, and then allow them to cool 
slowly. The actual straightening is now done 
by rolling them back and forth on an iron plate, 
with a tool called the smoothing file. The 
blanks are then pointed in a grinding machine. 
Only one end is pointed at a time, so the process 
has to be repeated for the other end. When 
ground, the needles are drawn from the grinding 
machine by a rapidly revolving pulley. They 
are then fed automatically into a machine which 
marks the place for the eyes; then the eyes are 
punched and the needles are “spitted,” or strung 
on two wires. The projections caused by the 
stamping are filed off and the double needles are 
then divided between the eyes. Each row, still 


strung on the wire, is placed in a vise-like arrange¬ 
ment and the heads are filed into shape. 

Needles are tempered by heating to a red heat 
and cooling suddenly in oil, then exposing to a 
slow heat until a blue oxide forms on them, 
when they are allowed to cool gradually. Each 
one is then examined by rolling with the fingers 
on a smooth steel slab, and any that do not roll 
evenly are cast aside. They are next washed 
and scoured in soap to remove any coating of oil 
that may adhere to them. The eyes are then 
smoothed and polished. While in the cheap 
grades of needles this work is done by machin¬ 
ery, in all the best grades the eyes are polished 
by hand. After polishing, the heads are ground, 
and the points finished on a stone by hand. The 
final process is polishing the shank, which is 
done by passing the needle between rollers 
arranged especially for the purpose. They are 
then sorted according to size, put up in papers 
holding twenty-five each, and a dozen of these 
papers are placed in a package. With all the 
machinery now in use, the ordinary sewing nee¬ 
dle passes through the hands of seventy work¬ 
men in the process of its manufacture. The 
finest needles are made in England, where most 
of those in use in this country are obtained. 

Besides the common sewing needle, we have a 
great variety of others for as many different 
purposes, like knitting needles, crochet needles, 
5 


etc.; but sewing-machine needles are the most 
numerous and important of all these different 
kinds. These needles have the eye near the 
point, and a groove on one side for the thread. 
Some needles used in machines for sewing the 
welts on to shoes are in the form of an arc of a 
circle. 


LEAD PENCILS 

If we draw a piece of lead across a paper, it 
leaves a dull black mark. This quality of lead 
was known to the Romans and other ancient 
people many centuries ago. It was quite com¬ 
mon to use small sticks of it for the purpose of 
marking. It is altogether probable that we get 
the name lead pencil from this custom. As you* 
all know, a lead pencil does not contain any 
lead at all, but the substance which makes the 
mark, and is generally known as black lead, is a 
peculiar form of carbon, called graphite. Graph¬ 
ite, like lead, has been used for several centuries 
to mark with. It is so soft and brittle that it 
needs to be protected in some kind of a case in 
order to make it durable, and this led to the 
invention of the present form of pencils. 
Graphite is found in veins in rock, like coal, 
from which it is mined. The most important 
graphite mines in the United States are at Ticon- 
deroga, N. Y.; others of note are found in 
England, in Siberia, and in the island of Ceylon. 


The first lead pencils were made by sawing 
graphite of the best quality into little bars and 
placing these in a case of wood. The German 
manufacturer, Faber, still continues to use this 
method. His pencils are known for their fine 
quality, and can easily be recognized by their 
square lead. 

The American manufacture of lead pencils 
differs from similar works in Europe, in the 
method of preparing graphite, and also in the use 
of machinery. When the graphite is taken from 
the mines, it is reduced to a powder, and then 
separated into various grades according to fine* 
ness. This separation is effected by run¬ 
ning the graphite, with a current of water, 
through a series of tubs, each one set above the 
other. The coarsest settles in the first tub, the 
medium in the second, and the finest (which is 
used in the best grade of pencils) in'the third. 
The graphite is then mixed with a fine quality of 
porcelain clay, and the mixture is thoroughly 
ground between flat stones. It contains enough 
water to give it about the same thickness as 
cream. The clay determines the grade of hard¬ 
ness in the pencil; the greater the proportion of 
clay, the harder the lead. Ordinary writing 
pencils contain about equal proportions of clay 
and graphite. 

After grinding, the water is forced out of the 
mixture by hydraulic pressure. It is then made 
7 


directly into leads. These leads are made by a 
machine which works on the principle of an old- 
fashioned force pump. It contains a close fitting 
iron piston which is forced into a cylinder with a 
screw. The bottom of the cylinder contains 
a small round hole, the diameter of the lead 
desired. As the piston works its way down the 
cylinder, the lead is forced out and coils up like 
a wire on a board at the bottom. It must now 
be handled with skill and dispatch for it dries 
rapidly. It is quickly cut into lengths sufficient 
for three pencils and straightened on boards. 
These leads are then gathered in bundles and 
baked until they become thoroughly dried and 
hardened. They are then ready for the cases. 

In cheaper grades of pencils the cases are 
made from pine; in medium grades, of common 
red cedar, .but the best grades have their cases 
of the finest quality of red cedar, obtained in the 
Florida Keys. The wood is prepared for the 
pencils where it is cut and comes to the factory 
in the form of little blocks, seven inches long, 
three and a half inches wide, and three-eighths 
of an inch thick. 

When the blocks reach the factory, they pass 
through a peculiar planer which cuts and pol¬ 
ishes the grooves for the lead. Each block con¬ 
tains grooves for six pencils. They are then 
passed to a bench, where the filling is done. 
One workman places the lead in the grooves, 


another glues them and a third places the blocks 
together. The filled blocks are placed in a 
strong press where they remain until the glue is 
thoroughly dried. The ends are then smoothed 
and they are passed through another peculiar 
planer which cuts them into individual pencils. 

The best grades of pencils are usually stained 
and varnished, all of which is done by machinery. 
As the pencils pass from one department to 
another, they are counted to see that no loss 
occurs. The counting is done by dropping them 
on to a board having grooves or notches. Each 
board is made to hold 144 pencils. By filling his 
hands with pencils and running them rapidly 
over this board, a workman can count a gross in 
five seconds of time. 

The Joseph Dixon Crucible Co., and the Eagle 
Pencil Co., are the two greatest pencil manufac¬ 
turers in the United States. Nearly all the pen¬ 
cils of note or value which we use are made by 
one or the other of these firms. In style of 
finish and degrees of hardness, they have vari¬ 
eties sufficient to meet all demands. The degree 
of perfection to which the lead pencil has been 
brought makes it the cheapest, pleasantest, and 
most convenient writing instrument in use. 

Colored pencils are made by coloring clay and 
making it into a composition which can be used 
as lead in the common lead pencils. Nearly all 
shades and colors can be obtained if one desires 
9 


them. Another peculiar pencil made by these 
firms is one used in marking on glass and china. 
What we call the lead, consists of a mixture of 
lampblack, graphite, and wax. When these pen¬ 
cils get cold they become so brittle that they can 
not be used. 

PENS 

Before the invention of pens, reeds, the stylus, 
and brushes were used for instruments of wri¬ 
ting. The first pens were undoubtedly made 
from turtle shells, bone, and similar material. It 
was found later that quills of certain birds, like 
the goose and crow, were better adapted to this 
purpose, and quill pens came into general use. 
It is from the Latin word meaning feather that 
we get the word pen. The quill pen was the 
favorite writing instrument for several centuries. 
While it may seem to us that only coarse writing 
can be done with it, we find specimens of beauti¬ 
ful work made with these pens in the hands of 
skillful writers who lived in the 12th and 13th 
centuries. Many of the books written before the 
invention of printing were done with quill pens. 
The writer manufactured his own pens, using a 
knife with a small, sharp blade for this purpose. 
The beauty of his work depended very largely 
upon his skill in making his pen. 

The metal pens were undoubtedly made by 
rolling metal in the form of a tube and then 
10 


pointing and shaping it at one end in the form 
of a pen; the remainder of the tube served as a 
handle or holder. Later the handles were made 
of different materials and the pen was of suffi¬ 
cient length to insert in the holder. The inven¬ 
tion of the steel pen as it is now known, is uncer¬ 
tain. It is claimed by several manufacturers, but 
no one has been able to prove which claimant 
produced his invention first. 

As the pen is a delicate instrument, its manu¬ 
facture requires care and skill. Steel used for 
this purpose is rolled into sheets about six feet 
long and seventeen inches wide. These sheets 
are cut in strips and placed in air-tight boxes, 
where they are heated to a dull red and then 
allowed to cool gradually before being taken out. 
As the heating forms blisters on the surface, the 
pieces are washed in a weak solution of sul¬ 
phuric acid to make them smooth again. After 
the washing, they are rolled in a barrel with 
pebbles and water. The strips are again rolled 
to the required thickness for the pen. This work 
must be delicately done since the variation of 
one thousandth of an inch in thickness spoils a 
plate. 

The plates are now prepared for making pens. 
The first process is stamping or cutting. This 
is done by dies which cut the pens from the strips. 
The pieces cut out, called blanks, are shaped like 
a pen, but are still flat. They are then stamped 
11 


with the name and grade at the same time that 
tne points are hammered. From the stamping 
machine they pass to the press where the pen is 
punched. The little opening thus formed near 
the point is necessary to make the pen elastic, 
and also enable it to hold ink well. After again 
washing, to remove dust and grease, the blanks 
are heated once more in iron boxes to a dull red. 
When cool, they are rounded into the shape of 
the pen by pressing in dies. 

The pens are tempered by heating them to a 
bright red, and immersing in vats of oil. The 
immersion is done with buckets which are per¬ 
forated in the bottom. As the bucket rises from 
the vat, the oil rapidly drains out. This cools 
the pens so rapidly, however, that they would be 
altogether too brittle for use, so they are again 
washed in boiling soda water and tempered by 
being rolled in cylinders over a charcoal fire. 

After annealing, the pens are rolled for sev¬ 
eral hours in a barrel of ground iron and then in 
another of dry saw-dust. This completes the 
polishing process, and leaves them a bright sil¬ 
very color. The points are now ground and 
finished, and the pens are ready for the last 
process, which is slitting the point. We notice 
how perfectly the edges of this slit fit together, 
and how easily the pen spreads when we bear 
upon it, but we seldom think that this result is 
brought about by polishing the edges of this slit. 


This polishing is done by tumbling the pens for 
several hours with powdered iron. Those pens 
that have a brown color are bronzed to prevent 
them from rusting. All those of the first quality 
are carefully examined by girls, who become 
very expert in their work. All imperfect pens 
are rejected. Those suitable for use are packed 
in boxes holding one gross each. 

There are only six important pen manufac¬ 
turers in the United States, but the pens from 
these are found in the stores of all stationers. 
Varieties and styles are sufficiently numerous to 
meet all demands and cater to all tastes. Eng¬ 
land is the leading nation in the world for the 
manufacture of steel pens. In the city of Bir¬ 
mingham, nearly 50,000 persons are employed in 
pen factories, producing on an average 25,000 
gross of pens each week. It requires at least a 
ton of steel of the best quality to make 1,000,000 
pens; and, strange as it may seem, it is never¬ 
theless true, that more steel is used every year 
in making pens, than is consumed by all the gun, 
sword, and needle factories of the world. This 
plainly shows us that the “pen is mightier than 
the sword” in more senses than one. 

Steel pens of excellent quality can be pur¬ 
chased at any stationery store, at from fifty to 
seventy-five cents a gross, but the first gross of 
steel pens sold in England in 1820 cost the buyer 
a sum equal to $36.00 in our money. The quality 
13 


of those pens was not as good as that of pens 
to-day, which can be bought for thirty-six cents 
a gross. This improvement in quality and 
cheapening in price is all due to the invention 
and perfection of machinery now used in pen 
manufactories. 

While England is the leading nation in the 
production of steel pens, we find the United 
States stands at the head as the producer of 
gold pens. Most of the gold pens made in this 
country are sold in Great Britian, France, and 
Germany. As the gold, even with the alloy, is 
so soft that the points wear rapidly, they are 
protected by what is called the diamond point. 
This simply means that a small quantity of 
harder metal, usually iridium, is inserted at the 
point of the pen. 


14 


PAPER 



HE 

papermaker, and his 
material was the same 
as that employed by the 
largest paper mills of 
today, namely, wood 
fiber. The celebrated 
Egyptian scholar, Dr. 
Ebers, tells us. that our 
word paper is derived 
from papyrus; our word 
Bible from byblos } the Greek name for the papyrus 
plant and the writing material prepared from it, 
and that the Greek word bybleon is applied to 
both. 

There are several varieties of the papyrus 
plant, but that from which a substitute for paper 
was first made is the Papyrus Antiquorum, and is 
of genuine African origin. » The plant was 
•abundant on the banks of the lower Nile during 
the days of the Pharaohs, but it is now found 
'only in the regions of the upper Nile, in the 
country of Abyssinia, and still further inland. It 
15 





grows in dense thickets, and often attains a 
height of twelve or fifteen feet. 

Authorities differ about the method of treat¬ 
ment this plant was subjected to by the ancient 
Egyptians in making what was their paper. 
Some say that they took the thin inner bark 
and laid the strips together so they would over¬ 
lap. Then, by rubbing, the sap would cement 
these strips into a sheet, which when dry would 
retain its form. Others think the leaf of the 
plant was used instead of the bark, and treated 
in a similar manner. Probably both methods 
were used, and in this way the papyrus rolls 
were made, upon which were written in hiero¬ 
glyphics the biographies of the kings of this 
ancient people. Many of these rolls have been 
discovered and translated in recent times and 
have revealed many interesting facts about the 
Egyptians and their government. 

The Chinese are supposed to be the inven¬ 
tors of paper as we know it. Cotton was the 
material which they used. Paper made from 
linen rags is first known in an Arabic manuscript 
bearing the date of noo a.d. It seems that the 
Persians and Arabians learned the art from the 
Chinese, and later gave it to the nations of 
Europe. The first paper mill in Europe was 
established in Germany late in the 13th century, 
and during the next three hundred^ years paper¬ 
making became general over the continent 
16 


France and Holland taking the lead in the 
industry. But little paper was made in England 
previous to the reign of Elizabeth. The Dutch 
were the first to make use of machinery to mac¬ 
erate the rags into pulp. 

The first paper mill in America was built by 
William Bradford and William Rittinghuyser on 
the banks of a little stream, still known as 
“Paper Mill Run,” near Philadelphia, in 1690. 
The structure was of coarse unhewn logs, after 
the style of the buildings of that time. 

“As paper has been the medium by which 
learning and culture were transmitted, so was 
the idea of the manufacture of paper borne on 
the winds of commerce, so have the highest art 
and skill entered into its manufacture.” From 
the old mill on the banks of Paper Mill Run the 
industry has continued to grow during the three 
centuries of its existence, until paper-making 
now holds the fifth place among the industries 
of the country. 

For several centuries all paper was made by 
hand labor. The process was very slow, and the 
product a paper of very inferior quality. The 
paper used for making books during the 16th 
century was of a much poorer quality than most 
of that now used by grocers and other mer¬ 
chants for the purpose of wrapping their goods. 

The rags were shredded and churned until 
they were reduced to pulp which could be made 


into paper. The pulp was kept floating in large 
vats from which it was dipped as needed. The 
pulp was dipped out by a square dipper, called 
the “mold.” This dipper had a long handle and 
a bottom of wire cloth. It was also fitted with a 
thin frame called the “deckle.” The deckle was 
just the size of the sheet of paper. The work¬ 
man put this on the mold and dipped them into 
the vat. A thin layer of pulp covered the mold 
inside the deckle, and by gently shaking the dip¬ 
per this was evenly distributed over the wire 
cloth. As the dipper was raised from the vat 
the water drained off, and the mold was taken 
from the deckle and passed to another workman 
called the “coucher.” The coucher spread a 
sheet of felt cloth and turned the mold over so 
as to lay the pulp flat upon it. As these forma¬ 
tive sheets of paper were taken from the mold 
they were laid upon felt and piled upon one 
another until the pile contained 130 sheets. 

The pile was then placed under a hand press 
which squeezed out most of the remaining 
water. The felts were then taken out, and the 
sheets of paper pressed again by themselves. 
They were then separated and pressed a third 
time, after which they were hung on lines to dry, 
very much after the manner of hanging the 
washing in the backyard. After drying, the 
sheets were sized by dipping them in a thin solu¬ 
tion of glue and alum. Then they needed to be 
18 


pressed again, after which they were dried for 
several days. The final finishing was done by 
passing them between hot metal rollers which 
were highly polished, or by pressing them 
between glazed pasteboard and hot metallic 
plates. The surface of this early paper was 
uneven and difficult to work on. The process 
seems to us very crude, and we may wonder that 
paper could have been made by it at all. Still, 
however complex the process of paper-making 
may seem to-day with the elaborate and expen¬ 
sive machinery employed, the modern paper mill 
is only a device for carrying on the old process 
of the hand mill on a larger scale and in a more 
perfect manner. 

Any vegetable fiber which can be reduced to a 
pulp can be made into paper, but the quality of 
the product will depend very largely upon the 
material used. Straw, hemp, jute, etc., when 
used alone, will make the coarse heavy paper 
used in wrapping merchandise, while linen and 
cotton rags make the finest grades of writing 
and printing paper. 

The best grades of paper are made entirely of 
rags, but most of the ordinary grades contain 
other and cheaper material, such as wood pulp, 
straw, and hemp. The best quality of rag paper 
must contain a fair proportion of linen, but it is 
not all linen. In fact, the only pure linen paper 
used is found in bonds and bank notes. Linen 
19 


paper writes well, but is stiff, crackly, and diffi¬ 
cult to fold, as well as expensive. For these 
reasons a mixture of cotton and linen makes a 
more desirable writing paper. The proportions 
are usually two parts cotton to one linen. 

The first step in making rags into paper is to 
shred them. All buttons must be taken off, and 
all seams ripped out in order that they may be 
thoroughly cleaned. After shredding, the rags 
are treated to a quantity of chloride of lime and 
steamed for several hours at a high temperature 
in a closed boiler. The chloride of lime serves 
the double purpose of a bleaching and a cleans¬ 
ing agent. When the rags emerge from this 
process, they are white and clean. They are 
then thoroughly washed and taken to the beating 
engine, which does, the grinding, or reduces 
them to pulp. These engines consist of a rapidly 
revolving axis filled with sharp knives, and 
encased in an oval-shaped vat. The shaft con¬ 
taining the knives extends about half way across 
the vat in the direction of its shortest diameter. 
On the other part of the shaft is a drum cylinder 
covered with wire gauze. A stream of water is 
admitted at one end of the oval, and carries the 
rags under the knives. After they have passed 
through, the cylinder hurries them around the 
vat for a second grinding, and so on as long as 
the process is continued. In course of the grind¬ 
ing the pulp usually passes through three 
20 


engines, each reducing it finer than the other. 
In its final stage the pulp bears a close resem¬ 
blance to rice and milk. From six to eight hours 
are required to complete the grinding, and the 
pulp passes from the last engine directly to. the 
storage vats, from whence it is pumped to 
the machine that converts it into paper. 

The machine known as the“Fourdrinier Paper¬ 
making Machine” is the most complete and per¬ 
fect apparatus yet invented for the manufacture 
of paper. The machine is very large, sometimes 
having a length of 150 feet. It is also a compli¬ 
cated structure, and difficult to understand with¬ 
out seeing it in operation. So perfect is the 
adjustment of the parts, and their adaptability 
to the work in hand, that one of these machines 
seems to exercise almost human understanding 
in performing its task. This is to receive the 
pulp at one end as it comes from the storage 
vat, and turn out at the other end the paper fin¬ 
ished and ready for use. Let us try to follow 
the pulp as it passes through the machine in its 
transformation to paper. 

The pulp is pumped from the storage vat into 
a long narrow box at one end of the machine. 
From this box it flows through a pipe and 
spreads itself over a frame set with horizontal 
slats about an inch in depth. The grooves 
between these slats catch any sand or pieces of 
metal that may have followed along. Next 
21 


comes a sieve of brass wire which removes any 
threads or knots that may have escaped the 
engine. From a box beneath this sieve the pulp 
falls upon an endless belt of wire gauze. This 
belt is about thirty feet long, and is supported 
on numerous rollers. It also has a lateral as well 
as a longitudinal motion. This is for the double 
purpose of keeping the pulp evenly distributed 
over its surface and weaving the fiber together 
so as to give greater strength to the paper. 
Running along each side of the gauze belt are 
two rubber straps, supported in a frame known 
as the “deckle frame.” These straps perform a* 
function similar to that of the original deckle in 
the old hand mill: viz., to confine the pulp 
between them and determine the width of the 
sheet. 

As the pulp passes along over the gauze, most 
of the water is drained off. Just before it leaves 
the wire it passes over a vacuum box from which 
the air is partially exhausted by pumps, and this 
serves to remove more moisture, and make 
the substance firmer. As the sheet leaves the 
deckle, it passes over a wire roller known as the 
“dandy roll.” This serves to still further press 
out the water, and to stamp any impression 
which the manufacturer may desire to place upon 
the paper as a trade-mark. This impression is 
known as the “water mark,” and can be readily 
seen by holding the sheet between the observer 
22 


and the light. It is found only upon paper of 
good quality, and is a guaranty of its grade. 
The design is made of wire, and fastened upon 
the roller, so that an impression is made at each 
revolution. If no impression is desired, the roller 
is left plain. This arrangement strengthens the 
impression made by the wire gauze, and the 
paper is known as “wove.” “Laid” paper is dis¬ 
tinguished by having parallel lines running 
through it at equal distances. These are made 
by fastening wire around the surface of the 
dandy roll. Some of the devices stamped in this 
way have given different kinds of paper their 
names. Foolscap was so named because when 
that kind of paper was first made it bore the 
water mark of the tester and his bells. 

Between the dandy roll and the end of the belt 
of gauze there are several suction boxes which 
still further remove the moisture and strengthen 
the sheet. After passing these boxes the paper 
leaves the belt of gauze and passes to one of 
felt, and known as the “wet felt.” This belt 
takes it between the first “press rolls.” From 
these the paper is carried to the second “press,” 
where it is transferred to another endless felt 
which takes it on its way to the driers. The 
paper is now practically made. The further 
work of the machine consists of drying, sizing, 
and finishing. 

The driers are large iron cylinders about two 

23 


and one-half feet in diameter. They have 
highly polished surfaces, and are heated by 
steam which enters through the trunnions upon 
which they revolve. The machine is so con¬ 
structed that the number of these cylinders can 
be increased indefinitely, and their number 
depends to quite an extent upon the grade of 
paper which the machine is to make. On its 
way over the driers the paper passes through a 
vat of sizing, and again between a pair of press 
rolls, to have the unnecessary sizing removed. 
The best grades of paper are obtained by allow¬ 
ing it to dry slowly after sizing, so the entire 
fiber may receive a portion of the finishing solu¬ 
tion. For this purpose a large number of driers 
at a low temperature is required. 

After being thoroughly dried the paper is 
passed over and between a set of press rolls 
each of which is about a foot in diameter, and 
placed one above the other. This part of the 
machine is known as the “stack,” and its work is 
to polish and finish the surface. Paper made by 
a machine having this attachment is known as 
“calendered” paper. 

From the stack the paper goes to the reel or 
cutters as desired. That used by the great news¬ 
paper houses is rolled and printed directly from 
the roll. That used in printing most books and 
magazines is cut into sheets and put up in 
quires. This style of marketing is used with all 
24 


paper of high grade, such as stationery and the 
best qualities of printing paper. 

From this description it will be seen that the 
Fourdrinier machine does on a large scale, and 
in a better way, what the mold, the deckle, and 
the press did in the old hand mill. Each machine 
is constructed for the particular kind of paper 
which it is to make, and can not make any other 
economically. The part of the machine which 
requires great skill in adjusting and tending is 
that over which the pulp passes before reaching 
the driers. Any fault in the flow of the pulp at 
once destroys the symmetry of the sheet, and 
usually causes it to break and run to waste. The 
machine is seldom stopped when an accident of 
this kind occurs. The attendant soon effects 
the necessary adjustment, and the paper ribbon 
rolls on. One of these machines will run thirty 
feet of ordinary newspaper a minute, and sixty 
tons a week by working twenty-four hours to the 
day. 

The Civil War put a stop to the importation of 
rags for several years, and, for a time, paper- 
makers were unable to supply the demand for 
their product. Finally, someone conceived the 
i'dea of treating rye straw to the same process as 
rags in the manufacture of the pulp. The exper¬ 
iment was so successful that nearly all the news¬ 
papers during the four years of the war were 
printed on straw paper. Wood gradually came 
25 


to take the place of straw. The inner bark of 
the basswood had been used to a limited extent 
in paper-making for a number of years, and this 
led to the use of the wood itself. 

At first, basswood was the only sort considered 
suitable for pulp, but now the processes of man¬ 
ufacturing wood pulp have been brought to such 
a degree of perfection that pine and spruce are 
very generally used. The wood is prepared for 
paper by two processes. The pulp is made by 
grinding, and what is known as “fiber” by chem¬ 
ical action. 

In the manufacture of pulp, the wood is first 
stripped of its bark, after which it is cut and split 
into blocks resembling stove wood. The knots 
are removed from these blocks, and they are 
then ready for the grinder, which is a large 
grindstone revolving on a horizontal axis. The 
stones revolve at a high rate of speed, and the 
wood is pressed against them by the action 
of a screw which is operated from the axis. A 
stream of water flows over the stone, and carries 
away the pulp as fast as it is ground. The pulp 
passes over a wire screen which removes all 
splinters and knots, the fine pulp being sucked 
through the screen by a bellows-like arrange¬ 
ment attached to a box underneath. 

After screening, the pulp, as a rule, is pumped 
to the “wet machine,” where it is gathered on an 
endless woolen felt, and pressed into layers, or 
26 


“laps.” The laps are about two-thirds water, but 
make quite a compact sheet, having the thick¬ 
ness of ordinary pasteboard. If the paper is 
made in a separate mill, the laps are shipped to 
the consumer. Most large mills, however, grind 
their own pulp, and thus save a good deal of 
freight. 

Spruce is considered the best wood for pulp. 
A cord of good spruce will produce a ton of pulp, 
dry weight. About 200 horse power is required 
to grind three tons of pulp in twenty-four hours. 
The development of pulp machinery during the 
past few years has been extensive, and has 
engaged the attention of some of the most com¬ 
petent inventors and designers. 

It was soon discovered that there was not 
enough fiber in wood pulp to give paper suffi¬ 
cient strength to withstand the strain of the 
printing press, and a proportion of rag pulp had 
to be added. A process of treating wood has 
now been perfected by which the fiber is pre¬ 
served so that paper can be made wholly from 
wood, and contain the necessary qualities for 
successful printing. Wood fiber is prepared by 
cutting the wood into chips and packing these in 
a large boiler, called the “digester.” A solution 
of caustic soda or sulphate of soda is added. 
The digesters are then closed and the contents 
cooked for eight or ten hours under a steam 
pressure of ninety or one hundred pounds. 

27 


When the “cook” is completed, the contents of 
the boiler are washed and made into laps the 
same as those from the pulp. In making the 
paper the fiber and the pulp laps are mixed in 
proper proportion in the engine. 

Nearly all the paper used by the large news¬ 
papers is made from wood, and more or less 
wood enters into the composition of that used in 
printing books. But paper containing any con¬ 
siderable amount of wood turns yellow or brown 
when exposed to the light, and should not be 
used for printing matter which is to be preserved 
for any length of time. The rapidity of the 
process of making paper from wood is astonish¬ 
ing. Excepting the chemical process necessary 
for making the fiber, a tree could be converted 
into paper in an hour. 

The coarsest kinds of wrapping paper, and the 
board used in the manufacture of paper boxes, 
are made from wheat straw. The pulp is pre¬ 
pared by first boiling the straw with quicklime, 
then washing and reducing in the beating engine. 
This paper is finished in a cylinder machine 
working on the same plan as that already 
described, though of much simpler construc¬ 
tion. 

Other substances which can be used to advan¬ 
tage in the manufacture of paper are bamboo, 
corn husks, and esparto grass. This grass grows 
in the southeastern part of Europe, and has an 

28 


excellent fiber. It is cheap and abundant, and 
is extensively used in the paper mills of England 
and the United States. One of the most impor¬ 
tant considerations in the manufacture of mate¬ 
rial is that of the selection of the fiber. The 
most perfect spinning fibers, and the best for 
paper-making, are cotton and flax. Next to 
these are shea, the fiber of the so-called China 
grass, cultivated extensively in the East Indies, 
hemp, jute, and, after these we may rank the 
fibers used in twine and rope-making, but not 
adapted to spinning. The poorer the fiber, the 
poorer the quality of paper. The chemical com¬ 
position of the fiber, or its capacity for with¬ 
standing the natural agencies of destruction, is 
also an important requisite of the material used. 
In this respect cotton and linen rags are the 
best, and wood fiber is the poorest. 

There are many special kinds of paper bearing 
distinct names, such as India paper, Japan paper, 
etc. Some of these names indicate the place of 
manufacture, while others refer only to the 
quality or use. The delicate operations neces¬ 
sary to the manufacture of some of these brands 
is especially noticeable in connection with silver 
tissue paper. This is so thin that we can 
scarcely measure its thickness, yet it is quite 
strong. Much of our tissue paper is made from 
old rope, which shows the good use that can be 
made of what we might at first consider worth- 
29 


less material. On account of the strength of its 
fiber, rope is especially adapted to the manufac¬ 
ture of thin paper. Many of the smooth papers 
have their pores filled with a preparation of fine 
porcelain clay, or talc. Glazing and polishing 
give such papers or boards a smooth, glossy sur¬ 
face, especially suited to certain kinds of writing 
and printing. For engravings a paper with a 
fine fiber but slightly rough surface is usually 
preferred, as this brings out the details of the 
picture in clear relief. 

There are many sorts and grades of paper. 
These have different names in different coun¬ 
tries, and each class has its numerous subdivi¬ 
sions which are recognized in trade. All these, 
however, can practically be classed under the 
following heads: printing, writing, wrapping, and 
boards. 

The following sizes are among the most com¬ 
mon, and are in general use. The sizes are 
given in inches. 


Billet note. 

Cap. 

Commercial letter. 
Commercial note. 

Letter. 

Octavo note. 

Packet note. 

Small flat cap.... 


.6x8 

I2^xi 6^, and 13x17 

.11x17 

.8x10 

.10x16 

.7X9 

. gxiitf 

. 13x16 


30 










The size of the pages of a book or pamphlet 
is frequently denoted by the number of folds in 
the sheet, showing the number of leaves. 


Folio, folded once.2 leaves, 4 pages. 

Quarto, folded twice.4 leaves, 8 pages. 

Octavo, folded four times.8 leaves, 16 pages. 

Duodecimo, folded six times.12 leaves, 24 pages. 


Sixteen is the highest number of folds usually 
made in book-making; this gives 64 pages, and is 
styled a 321110. This book is an octavo, having 
16 pages to the sheet. 

We are all familiar with common uses of 
paper, and they do not need any special mention 
in this work; but, if the new discoveries of the 
uses of this article are any index to advancement 
in civilization, we must be making progress very 
fast. Some of the most recent and novel uses to 
which paper pulp has been put are making win¬ 
dow panes, flower pots, wagon wheels, horse¬ 
shoes, barrels, tubs, pails, pulleys, etc. Flower 
pots are made from ^>5 parts wood and 15 parts 
rag pulp. The pot is shaped to the desired form 
in a mold. After drying, it is subjected to the 
treatment of a composition consisting of a petro¬ 
leum, paraffin, and linseed off. The liquid is put 
on hot, and permeates the entire substance and 
renders it water-proof. Paper is also used in the 
construction of canoes, and in building portable 
houses. It is light, strong, and durable, which 






qualities adapt it to the construction of portable 
hospitals, and such other buildings as are neces¬ 
sary to the field outfit of an army. 

The older paper mills are located in the New 
England and other eastern States. The most 
noted mills of the country are at Holyoke, 
Mass., Bellows Falls, Vt., and Ticonderoga, 
N. Y.; but the use of wood in the manufacture 
has caused the erection of many large mills in 
the vicinity of the forest regions, as it is much 
cheaper to freight the paper than the raw mate¬ 
rial. The perfection of machinery by which the 
expense of manufacture has been greatly reduced 
has proportionately extended the use of paper, 
as it has enabled publishers to reduce the price 
of books and periodicals to such an extent as to 
make it possible for everyone to purchase them. 
This, with the new uses for paper which are 
being continually discovered, cause such a 
demand for it that the United States has become 
the largest paper-producing country in the world. 
The annual output at the present time exceeds 
1,200,000 tons, and the value of the paper and 
pulp manufactured now exceeds $500,000,000 
per year. The next largest producer is Eng¬ 
land. Then follow France, Germany, Austria, 
and Italy. 


32 


The Little Classic Series 


The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 
Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug¬ 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


Third and Fourth Grades 

No. 

2831 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard— 

Part I. 

2832 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard— 

Part II. 

2833 Aunt Martha’s Corner Copboard— 

Part III. 

2808 How Little Cedric Became a 
Knight. 

2835 The Little Brown Pitcher. 

2737 The Golden Bird and Seven Ravens. 

2836 The Little Brown Man. 

2821 Longfellow and Hiawatha. 

2837 The Queer Little Tailor. 

2815 Stories of Old New England. 

2839 Drakestail and Choosing a King. 
2739 Daffydowndilly and the Golden 

Touch. 

2903 A Christmas Carol. 

2822 Stories of Sir Launcelot and Other 

King Arthur Stories. 

2840 Story of Leather, Boots and Shoes. 

2816 The Story of a Beehive. 

2922 Miss Alcott’s Girls. 

2741 Two Brownie Parties. 

2841 The Story of King Corn. 

2817 Stories of ’76. 

2925 The Story of Coal. 

2805 Some of Our Birds. 

2926 The Story of Wheat. 

2818 Arthur, The Hero King. 

2927 The Story of King Cotton. 

2806 King Arthur Stories. 


Fourth and Fifth Grades 

No. 

2928 The Story of Sugar. 

2919 The Story of Daniel Boone. 

2929 The Story of Lumber. 

2913 American Naval Heroes. 

2930 The Story of Iron. 

2834 Little Goody Two Shoes. 

2931 Night Before Christmas and Other 

Christmas Poems. 

2907 Our Pilgrim Forefathers. 

2.932 The Story of Granite, Copper and 
Zinc. 

2901 The Story of Abraham Lincoln. 

2933 The Story of Marble and Slate. 

2920 The Story of Washington. 

2934 The Story of Fruit. 

2914 The Story of Benjamin Franklin. 

2935 Norse Heroes. 

2908 A Longfellow Booklet. 

2936 Norse Myths. 

2838 The Bluest of Blue Birds. 

2937 Norse Legends. 

2902 The Norse Seamen and Christo¬ 

pher Columbus. 

2915 The Story of the Revolution. 

2909 Henry Hudson and Other Explor¬ 

ers. 

2916 Miss Alcott’s Boys. 

2910 Orioles, Bobolinks and other Birds. 
2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2917 Grace Darling and Florence Night¬ 

ingale. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 



The Little C 

The most popular works c 
arranged for use i-n schools, 
notes, biographical sketche 
Also elementary stories of 
geography, biography, and 
gested has been extensively 
satisfactory results, but n. 
conditions. 


library of congress 


0 002 122 755 


The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


Fifth and Sixth Grades 


No. 

2938 The Story of Gold and Silver. 

2911 The Story of Jeanne (Joan)D’Arc. 

3020 The Story of Our Flag. 

2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2939 The Story of Oil. 

2905 The Three Golden Apples. 

2940 Longfellow's Poems. 

2924 The Story of Electricity. 

3002 Rab and His Friends. 

2918 William McKinley. 

3021 The Great Stone Face. 

2912 The Discovery of America. 

2943 The Story of Paper, Pens, Pencils, 

etc. 

3019 The Story of Steam. 

2944 The Story of Printing. 

3013 Father Marquette. 

2945 The Story of Newcpapers and 

Books. 

3007 The Miraculous Pitcher. 

3025 The Story of Robinhood. 

3001 The Story of La Salle. 

Sixth and Seventh Grades 

No. 

3026 The Story of Motors. 

3014 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Sixth Grade. 

3016 Rip Van Winkle and Author’s Ac¬ 
count of Himself. 

3008 The King of The Golden River. 

3027 The Story of Glass. 

2941 The Golden Fleece. 

3028 The Meat-Packing Industry. 

2942 Whittier’s Poems. 

3029 Tennyson’s Poems. 

3015 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

3030 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare— 

Part I. 

3031 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare— 

Part II. 


No. 

3009 The Pied Piper of Hamlin and 

Other Poems. 

3011 The Song of Hiawatha—Abridged. 

3003 The Snow-1 mage. 

3032 Primitive Travel and Transporta¬ 

tion. 

3022 The Courtship of Miles Standish. 

3033 The Story of Ships and Shipping. 
3024 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Seventh Grade. 

3034 Ocean Routes and Navigation. 

Seventh and Eighth Grades 

No. 

3035 American Railway Systems. 

3018 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 

3010 Evangeline. 

3036 Horatius at the Bridge, and Other 

Poems. 

3012 The Cotter’s Saturday Night and 

Other Poems. 

3037 Lowell’s Poems. 

3004 Thanatopsis and Other Poems. 

3006 The Deserted Village (Goldsmith) 

and Gray’s Elegy. 

3038 Washington’s Farewell Address 

and Other Papers. 

3122 The Vision of Sir Launfal and 
Other Poems. 

3039 Prisoner of Chillon and Other 

Poems. 

3017 Snow-Bound and the Corn Song. 
3115 The Magna Charta. 

3040 Sir Roger De Coverley Papers. 

3041 Carrying the U. S. Mail. 

3108 Speeches by Lincoln. 

3005 Enoch Arden. 

3101 Sohrab and Rustum. 

3042 Navigating the Air—Electric Rail¬ 

ways. 

3107 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 
Eighth Grade. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 






































